Cuisine: The large part of odishan food tastes sharp and mild, rice forming the staple food. But there are other delicacies of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food worth trying while in Odisha.

Infrastructure: - The road, rail, air connectivities is almost at per with the best in the country, connected to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata , Chennai, Vizag, Hyderabad, Raipur , Guwahati, Janshed pur etc.
The state has 2465kms at Rail line, 3194 kms of National Highway, and 4825 kms of state high way.
Telecommunication, electricity and other infrastructure development are at per with the rest of India.

Other Attractions: Odisha is beautiful of nature, contains some outstanding scenery. The beaches of Puri, Konark, Gopalpur, Chandipur, and Talasari are fringed by coconut groves and fishery villages, along with modern hotels and recreational facilities. Chilika, Asia’s largest brakish water lagoon , Simlipal national park, Bhitarakanika national park , the centuries old ornate sandstone temples and Buddhists monastries, beautiful traditional craft , all add up to a memerising an unforgettable experience in Odisha. It is truly scenic, serene & sublime, the essence of Incredible India.

Buddhist Odisha:
 Buddhism came to odisha by two merchants namely Tapasa and Bhallika who were the first disciples of Lord Buddha.
The excavation of Ratnagiri, Lalit Giri and Udaygiri by ASI established the rich Buddhist heritage from 15-16th AD.
Major sites are -
Dhauli: 10kms for Bhubaneswar famous for the great transformation of Ashoka the great, from Chandashok to Dharmashok.
Lalitgiri: Earliest Buddhist complex of 1st century AD. Ratnagiri: Famous for Buddhist antiquarian remains.
Udaygiri: The largest Buddhist compiles ever found in Odisha.

Other Buddhist attractions are:
Langudi Hills / Tarapur / Deuli / Kayama
Tour Package: - BBSR-CUTTACK- LALITGIRI- UDAYGIRI–DHAULI (4N/5D)

Wild life Odisha : Odisha is a tropical state constituting a part of Eastern Ghat, ranges of India. Tigers, Leopards, Spotted dear, Elephants, Crocodiles, Olive ridley turtles are found a plenty. It’s diverse and varied topography constitute of hills, valleys, dense green forests, Scrub jungles, harbours an exciting variety of flora and fauna. There are two national parks, 18 wildlife sanctuaries and numerous smaller but equally beautiful wildlife protected sites.

Package: 1: Balasore –Simlipal National park – Chandipur beach – Balasore (4N/5D)
Package: 2: Bhadrak-Chandbali-Bhitarkanika national park – Bhadrak (3N/4D)
Package: 3- Berhampur –Gopalpur- on- sea- Taptapani-Raygada- Koraput-Vizag (6N/7D)
Package: 4 –Bhubaneswar-Nandankanan sanctuary- Tikarpada –Bhubaneswar (4N/5D)

Fair & Festivals : 
Odisha observes a large number of festivals mostly associated with harvesting season, religion and temples.
Many festivals introduced by the department of tourism show case the rich heritage. Art and culture, prominent being Rath Yatra, Makar, Chaitra Parba, Sital Sasthi, Raja, Durga Puja, Baliyatra, and Dhanu Yatra etc.
Tourist festivals being Konark dance festival (1-5 December).
Toshali National Crafts Mela.
Ekamra temple city festival: Dance and food festival. Kalinga Mohatsova: Festival on martial dances.
Rajarani Music Festival: During February and March. Shreeksetra Utsav: Week long extravaganza of art and culture, offering hand loom, cuisine, dance, music, and the famed sand art, held in Puri. Tribal Fair (Jan- Feb.): Showcase the uniqueness of tribal culture.
Parab: November: Gives a common platform for the various tribal communities of Odisha to interact and showcase their tradition, cultural art and craft, held in Koraput. Puri Beach Festival (Nov-Dec): Most famous beach festival among domestic and foreign tourists.
Packages: Right from October till March, we prepare packages according to the festival and fairs calendar, basically of 3-5days duration but can be extended and tailor made according to the visitor’s choice and preference.

Temples and sculptures

The rich Odishan art and architecture finds expression in the innumerable temples dating from the 7th to the 13th century. The most famous being KONARK SUN TEMPLE (A UNESCO world Heritage site), Others are being Lord Lingaraj, Mukteswar, Rajrani in Bhubaneswar, Sri Jagannath temple of Puri are land marks of the region’s architectural achievement.

Rock art, sand art, pattachitra, filigree art are a few of the art one must see on a visit to the state. Package: Bhubaneswar- Pipili –Raghurajpur – Puri –Konark –Bhubaneswar (4N/5D)

 

Music & Dance: The best known music and dance of Odisha is Odissi, which owes much to the great saint poet Jayadev, composed in Sanskrit in the 12th century. Other forms are Gotipua, Chhau, Dandanata, Chaitighoda and the tribal dances like Changu and Karma.

Textile: The distinctive hand woven textile of Odisha in unusual Patterns and Vibrant colours is a traditional craft employing thousands in the industries. Sambalpur, Berhampur, Bargarh, Mayurbhanj and Nuapatna all produce a striking range in tassar, silk and cotton .Other typical varieties of Odisha saris are Khandua, Pata, Bomkai, Jotaikat, Kotpad, Taraballi, Bichitra Puri etc.

Package: Bhubaneswar – Nuapada – Sambalpur- Bargarh - Bhubaneswar - Gopalpur - Bhubaneswar (6N/7D)
Apart from the above, one will come across Metal work (Dhokra) Silver filigree. Horn work crafts in various part of the state.

For more detail log on to www.orissatourism.gov.in OR www.visitorissa.org

For list of package tours click here or write to sanjay@etholidays.com